Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Baker City brought some talent this year and the Bob's squad was in full force and in some good form to throw down. Kevin Rowe won the first stage with four more of us following in very closely behind in the top 12! The next day, the time trial went fairly well. I was fourth, 11 seconds back of the winner, Sammy J, and now only one second out of first! The guy that started right behind me, Seth Hosmer, beat me by one second and was in the front group at the line in stage one. There were five Bob's in the top 10 spots after the TT!! and another !Going into the criterium, the rain caused wrecks in the womens field and the officials decided that rain would cancel our race. That's a first in all the years of racing I've done.Going into the last stage, the 101 mile Mt. Dooley road race, we had a lot of cards that we could play with five guys within 38 seconds of the leader. Two different early breaks formed that eventually merged to become one and of the 20 riders up the road, four were Bob's including two of our top 10 riders. Eventually, Canadian pro Will Routley and Rowe slipped the field and caught the breakaway just before the base of the final climb, Mt. Dooley. Routley put in a massive effort over the stage and held on for the win, but at the top, Rowe was only a handful of seconds back. In the last 250 meters, Rowe threw in an attack on Routley, but the Canadian had some gas left in the tank and bolted out to the win. In the end, Rowe was 2nd and Justin Mayfield 3rd overall, a very strong showing for our team! Unfortunately, two of our top 10's going into the stage (myself and Justin Rose) didn't really get to play out the stage so much. Props to Rowe for a super strong finish on Dooley!Mid time trial, that's a major pain face right there!Neutral section going under the train bridge in Baker on the Dooley stage.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

After 200 meters, a few guys decided to get all excited and wreck in this years running of the Eagle Criterium. One after the other went down and eventually my turn came. I was almost certain that I could avoid it at first, but after a few too many other guys had the same idea as me to dive inside on the corner, I was left with nowhere to go but into the rear wheel of Ben M. at about seven or eight mph (the brakes had already done a pretty good job at that point). With a sore left shoulder, the rest of the race went a bit better, for me that is. There were three more wrecks (all four in corner one), the last with three laps to go and three of my teammates went down in it. All three did pretty severe damage. Buster destroyed his really expensive front wheel and landed on his previously broken collar bone, but the metal that's still in there held tough. Stu fractured a finger. Worst of all, Slack was knocked unconscious and couldn't be moved from the corner, which neutralized the race. Calvin was away at the time and awarded the win, but there was no second place. Pictures will be coming soon as Cody was out doing a fantastic job. The guy can take some real shots!

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Charlene and I checked out a few new places this weekend. Finding Camel Falls was the hard part, but unquestionably worth the effort. With no trail to get to the falls, it's a must to know exactly where you're going before heading out for Camel Falls! Without a gps and the coordinates, there's no way we would have gotten there (okay, maybe the old fashion way would have worked) from Mud Flat Road (the Owyhee Uplands Byway road). The map shows a road running along side Camel Creek, but that road does not exist and there isn't any ground that looks to have been bladed for a road.The lake at the bottom of the falls, which is more of just a trickle even this time of year.Venturing out into the waterFrom above the fallsLooking South from near Camel Falls. There are many slot canyons not far out there, but we didn't have time to get to them. Maybe a backpacking trip is in order for further exploration. Also, Star Reservoir is just to the right of what you can see in this picture and supposedly has some good fishing.Near the start/finish at the corralsCharlene in a field of wildflowers and junipersN42 32.700, W116 37.320 is the exact coordinates of the falls

The next day, we went out to take a tour of the Ste Chapelles winery, definitely worth the trip out there! BTW, it's only $5 for the tour, five taste tests and a wine glass.They wouldn't let me open the bottom and start a massive keg standWhen they are bottling, 90 bottles per minute fly through here.

If you're thinking I'm not riding the bike much, you'd be wrong. Last week had a lot of intensity and one ride out to Moores Creek Summit and back (110 miles).Anyone know how to get the select button on my powertap working again sans sending it in? Rain and the tap don't get along too well.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The Elkhorn Classic starts on June 20th and goes through the 22nd. The current start list has an admitted convicted doper. Just so happens that he's really flying at the moment. I'll let you be the judge and jury.What do I think of this? I'm not too thrilled to have to race against cheaters, so I've got a plan. I'm going to show you a picture of the villain and at the criterium Saturday evening, pick him out and throw tomatoes! He should be pretty easy to pick out:

Monday, June 02, 2008

This year must have been some kind of record at the Enumclaw Omnium. It only rained a little on the time trial for us as apposed to every stage that is the usual. The time trial went pretty good, 5th, only 3 seconds out of 2nd. The road race had potential for a good result, but the field somehow managed to come back together after the climb each time, resulting in a hairball pack sprint finish. It was a good workout either way and just in time to be building toward the Elkhorn Classic in 3 weeks.

On a totally different topic, Rob's youtube video pick of the weekend is worth honorable mention. When done with this one, search for some of the remakes, including the "Charlie Bit Me *adult version*." Funny stuff!